On May 21, the Agency for Private Initiative Development completed the evaluation of youth initiative concepts, which provide for specific measures to involve residents in using the potential of the cultural heritage of their communities for the purposes of local development.

A total of 30 applications with concepts of potential initiatives were submitted and 20 were selected for further development by the authors at the II stage of the Program.

At the II stage, the Program participants will take part in a training on heritage interpretation planning with the participation of local stakeholders, which is planned for June this year. The training will include a study visit to centers of modern heritage interpretation in Ukraine - the Vyhodsk Narrow Gauge Heritage Center (Ivano-Frankivsk region) and / or Tustan Fortress (Lviv region). The tentative dates of the training are June 23-26, 2021. Final information on the schedule, locations, as well as the training program will be provided to participants after they confirm their participation.

Also at this stage of the Program, the participants will be provided with mentoring support, which will allow them to develop / adapt community heritage interpretation plans, improve the submitted initiatives and submit them for final selection within the Program.

At the III Stage of the Program, five best winning initiatives will be selected, for the implementation of which small grants will be provided.

The Agency for Private Initiative Development on behalf of the Go Heritage! Network community congratulates the winners:

1. NGO Initiative Development Center "InSource" (Kremenetsk Territorial Community, Ternopil Region): creation and popularization of a local media product about the cultural and tourist potential of the Kremenets community.

2. NGO Sustainable Development Platform "PERSPECTIVE" (Novoselivka Village Council, Poltava District, Poltava Region): campaign to raise awareness of the potential of local heritage in the community.

3. NGO "Nadvirna Tourist Information Center" (Nadvirna Territorial Community, Ivano-Frankivsk Region): activities of the youth team to increase the potential and attractiveness for visitors to the ruins of the Krasnodvir Castle with the participation of local volunteers.

4. NGO Brotherhood of Princes Ostrohsky (Ostroh City Community, Rivne Region): activities to increase the potential and attractiveness for young visitors to the Novomalyn Castle with the participation of community residents.

5. MP "LEMKO-center" at the NGO "Charivni Runy" (Zvanivka community of Donetsk region): development of the heritage potential of the Zvanivka community through training a team of young guides-interpreters and use of online tools.

6. Youth initiative group "Jura" in partnership with the charitable organization "Oleshka community fund named after Sofia Falz-Fein" (Oleshka united territorial community of Kherson region): preparation and implementation of a Cossack festival with the participation of young people on the territory of Oleshkivska Sich.

7. NGO "Liyka" (Vasylivka-na-Dnipro, Vasylivka starostyn district No. 1, Raivka village council of Dnipropetrovsk region): creation of creative groups from among local residents and development of unique elements of interpretation of local heritage with their participation.

8. Youth Space Initiative Group (Rohatyn City Territorial Community, Ivano-Frankivsk Region): research and inventory of Opillya heritage resources by the community's youth.

9. Non-profit Organization "Charitable Fund "Help Center "GARANT"" (Rohatyn City Territorial Community, Kharkiv Region): attracting visitors through the promotion of local cultural and natural heritage sites with the participation of creative residents of the city, where a famous beer brand is produced.

10. Initiative Group "Revival of the Heritage of Kuyalnytsia ATC" (Kuyalnytsia Territorial Community, Odessa Region): development with the participation of creative local youth and launch of three ethnotours that introduce the local lifestyle and work cultures of specific residents of the Ukrainian, Moldovan, Bulgarian, and Czech ethnic groups in the Kuyalnytsia community.

11. NGO "Mamont-femeli" (Ponornytskyi community of Novgorod-Siverskyi district of Chernihiv region): organization and holding of the local youth festival "Mamont-Fest".

12. NGO "Tourist Association "Hutsuliya" (Kosivka territorial community of Ivano-Frankivsk region): development by local creative youth of the concept of interpretation of the newest heritage created by young Kosivka masters and creation of elements of interpretation for the heritage that is being created today.
13. Youth Council of the Velykoomelyanska Village Council (Velykoomelyanska TG of the Rivne district of the Rivne region): activities of the youth team to increase the potential of the heritage and attractiveness for visitors of the Velykoomelyanska TG.

14. Initiative Group of the Novorozdilska TG (Novorozdilska urban community of the Lviv region): activities of the youth team to increase the potential of local heritage as an integral condition of local identity and the formation of a unique image of the community.

15. Public organization "Transformation" (Belozersky village community of Kherson region): gaining experience in creating an attraction and interpreting cultural heritage through the preparation and holding of the youth festival "Kizim Yushka Fest" with the participation of residents on the territory of the community.

16. NGO "Coordinates of a Successful Community" (Novoushytsk settlement territorial community, Khmelnytsky region): uniting active residents and stakeholders of development around the local natural heritage of the banks of the Otrokivka River with route marking.

17. BF "Baryshivska Grain Company" (Chornukhynska TG, Poltava region): improving the means of interpreting the unique heritage of Hryhoriy Skovoroda through the efforts of a youth initiative group

18. NGO School of Robotics "Forward to the Future" (Zaporizhzhya region, Molochansk territorial community, Lahidne village, Kirovska Village Council, Tokmat district): research and revival of the heritage of ancient windmills with further modeling of windmill mechanisms for use in children's robotics classes.

19. NGO "Dzhem ShM" (Rukshynska AH, Chernivtsi region): strengthening the identity of the community and improving its tourist image by increasing the interest of residents in traditional cultures of work.

20. Initiative group of the Pryluky Local History Museum named after V. I. Maslov (Pryluky city, Chernihiv region): creating 3D models of the Pryluky fortress for children and youth.

The reserve list of participants of the II stage of the program includes:

1. Youth initiative group of the Piilo starostyn district of Kaluska TG, Ivano-Frankivsk region): activities on inventorying the heritage resources of the village of Piilo and preparing a concept for interpreting the heritage with the participation of youth leaders of the community.

2. Youth NGO "Vector" (Zhydachivska MTG, Lviv region): development of the concept of the flower tour "On the Way of the Marigold" and installation of interpretation facilities.

3. Youth Initiative Group "With Shulhivka in the Heart" (Shulhivka village; Petrykivska village council; Dniprovskyi district; Dnipropetrovsk region): campaign to raise awareness of local residents about the heritage of Shulhivka and the surrounding villages of the community - Sorochyne, Plaveshchyny, Sudivka.

4. Public Organization "Yakymivska Svitlytsia" (Yakymivska village council, Zaporizhia region): creation of a roadmap for the economy of well-being based on the community's heritage and training of local stakeholders.

5. NGO "BERY i SLAV" (Beryslav territorial community of Kherson region): strengthening the identity of a multicultural community through a campaign to raise awareness of local youth about their roots: holding a Boykiv festival.

A total of 30 applications from CSOs and initiative groups from 14 regions of Ukraine were submitted to the competition. The largest number of applications was submitted from Ivano-Frankivsk - 7, Rivne and Kherson regions - 3 applications each. No applications were submitted from Luhansk, Kyiv, Cherkasy, Vinnytsia, Zakarpattia, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kirovohrad, Zhytomyr, Volyn regions.

NGO ARPI is sincerely grateful to all declared CSOs and initiative groups for their interest in the heritage of their communities and the desire to act thoughtfully and thoughtfully towards its salvation and prosperity and will definitely meet with everyone at the youth initiative forum that will be held at the end of the project.

The program is implemented within the framework of the project “Heritage for Development-II: Enhancing the Management Capacity of Small Communities in Ukraine through Youth Engagement” co-financed by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The project is a continuation of the previous ARPI initiative with the support of the NED “Heritage for Development: Enhancing Public Participation in the Preservation and Use of the Heritage Potential of Local Communities” and aims to attract the potential of youth and provide young community leaders with the skills of smart management of heritage potential in the interests of local development, as well as create opportunities for them to implement their own creative initiatives in their communities. More information about the project is available here https://cutt.ly/ax5yqOs.